Numeric Domains: "Some green paint with that pizza, Mam?"

[OnSpec]

Have you noticed the increased media coverage being given to the incredible growth in cell phone sales and wireless access to the Internet lately?

In today’s News.com, Gartner reported: Sales of cell phones are on pace to reach a billion annually by the end of the decade, when nearly 40 percent of the world's population will own a mobile handset, according to a Gartner report.

http://news.com.com/A+billion+cell+phones+by+2009/2100-1039_3-5795100.html?tag=html.alert

Among other choice bits of information to note:

“Overall, the findings bolster the cell phone's status as the world's most popular electronic device. Mobile handsets have already eclipsed cameras, personal computers and even traditional landline phones in sales”

So what does this mean for those savvy Domainers that are looking to ride the next wave? It means that the most ubiquitous device on the planet will increasingly become the device of choice to access the Internet. In fact, in many developing countries, mobile access to the Internet will be the only way for people to access your websites. A whole new generation of active, on-the-go cell phone users (and any other WAP enabled devices) will insist that your mobile websites meet their increased demands for easy access, security and ease of navigation, no matter what type of device they have, no matter who their wireless carrier is, no matter what browser they use and no matter what platform they run on.

The technology to accomplish all of this is available to all of us right now. It starts with a numeric domain that is composed of numbers as opposed to letters. Each letter from 2 to 9 on your telephone dial pad represents 3 or 4 letters of the alphabet. By typing in a series of numbers that represent alpha equivalents, it is possible to access designated Internet web sites on any wap-enabled device. For example, typing 6397.com into your cell phone you can reach a portal related to N-E-W-S.

How sophisticated is the technology and the potential profitability of incorporating numeric domains into your portfolio and business models? Take a look at how one company has capitalized on delivering mobile solutions to a wide range of customer needs.

“Some green paint… “

To access the site, simply type into your wap-enabled device: 737363.com (Resene)

http://www.istart.co.nz/index/HM20/PC0/PV21902/EX245/CS26964


“…with your pizza, Mam? Same here. 4355.com.

http://www.istart.co.nz/index/HM20/PC0/PV21902/EX245/CS27409


OK, green paint and pizza are one thing, what about a real business?

BankDirect (Banks – 22657.com)
http://www.istart.co.nz/index/HM20/PC0/PV21902/EX245/CS27642

There are tremendous opportunities in this area, don’t get caught asleep at the switch. Over the next few days I’ll be adding more articles on the importance and versatility of numeric domains.


OnSpec

 

[JEsports]

Have you noticed the increased media coverage being given to the incredible growth in cell phone sales and wireless access to the Internet lately?

In today’s News.com, Gartner reported: Sales of cell phones are on pace to reach a billion annually by the end of the decade, when nearly 40 percent of the world's population will own a mobile handset, according to a Gartner report.

http://news.com.com/A+billion+cell+phones+by+2009/2100-1039_3-5795100.html?tag=html.alert

Among other choice bits of information to note:

“Overall, the findings bolster the cell phone's status as the world's most popular electronic device. Mobile handsets have already eclipsed cameras, personal computers and even traditional landline phones in sales”

So what does this mean for those savvy Domainers that are looking to ride the next wave? It means that the most ubiquitous device on the planet will increasingly become the device of choice to access the Internet. In fact, in many developing countries, mobile access to the Internet will be the only way for people to access your websites. A whole new generation of active, on-the-go cell phone users (and any other WAP enabled devices) will insist that your mobile websites meet their increased demands for easy access, security and ease of navigation, no matter what type of device they have, no matter who their wireless carrier is, no matter what browser they use and no matter what platform they run on.

The technology to accomplish all of this is available to all of us right now. It starts with a numeric domain that is composed of numbers as opposed to letters. Each letter from 2 to 9 on your telephone dial pad represents 3 or 4 letters of the alphabet. By typing in a series of numbers that represent alpha equivalents, it is possible to access designated Internet web sites on any wap-enabled device. For example, typing 6397.com into your cell phone you can reach a portal related to N-E-W-S.

How sophisticated is the technology and the potential profitability of incorporating numeric domains into your portfolio and business models? Take a look at how one company has capitalized on delivering mobile solutions to a wide range of customer needs.

“Some green paint… “

To access the site, simply type into your wap-enabled device: 737363.com (Resene)

http://www.istart.co.nz/index/HM20/PC0/PV21902/EX245/CS26964


“…with your pizza, Mam? Same here. 4355.com.

http://www.istart.co.nz/index/HM20/PC0/PV21902/EX245/CS27409


OK, green paint and pizza are one thing, what about a real business?

BankDirect (Banks – 22657.com)
http://www.istart.co.nz/index/HM20/PC0/PV21902/EX245/CS27642

There are tremendous opportunities in this area, don’t get caught asleep at the switch. Over the next few days I’ll be adding more articles on the importance and versatility of numeric domains.

I know the folks at WordDial so if you want more info drop me a line.

OnSpec … On watch

So if they are typing in numbers, then how are they supposed to type in the ".com" ... is there going to be some sort of hot key for this?

 

[mark]

pm sent

 

[Dale Hubbard]

That's neat - fascinating post! I'm surprised that the big phone manufacturers haven't yet come up with a hotkey to append user text to a keypad input for a URL. It would be interesting to test what names come up with predictive text as well as just typing the numbers -- that's another angle...

 

[dotDan]

Wouldn't cell's automatically append the extension if only a word/number was types?

 

[Dale Hubbard]

They don't at the moment but it's easy for the manufacturers to incorporate a short cut key; or even third-party developers for some platforms like Symbian etc. where there are good SDKs...

 

[OnSpec]

So if they are typing in numbers, then how are they supposed to type in the ".com" ... is there going to be some sort of hot key for this?

Some browsers automatically populate either http:// or www. You the add the numbers/letters you want by pushing the appropriate numbers on the dial pad. For example if you wanted to type in the numeric equivalant of "hat", you would press the "4" key until the "h" was highlighted. Most browsers will automatically insert the number/letter after a second or 2. The cursor then moves to the next space. You would then do the same for the other 2 letters. Press "2" for the letter "a", then "8" for the letter "t".

You follow the same procedure to add the "dot and the corresponding letters for "com" and press enter.

Some of the newer "smart" phones make the process very easy.

That's neat - fascinating post! I'm surprised that the big phone manufacturers haven't yet come up with a hotkey to append user text to a keypad input for a URL. It would be interesting to test what names come up with predictive text as well as just typing the numbers -- that's another angle...

Thanks aZoo - The big telco's are all working on various ways to make it easier to access the mobile Internet. However, there is still a great deal of "walled gardens" out there that really muddle the mix. There does seem to some sense being brought to the market with a couple of wireless telco's in the UK working together to share some of the content with the others customers.

"Hotkeys" may work on certain handsets, but remember that no one manufacturer dominates every market. The numbers on the dial pad are the same the world over. If one manufacturer added a "hotkey", it would only be beneficial for those users who owned that particular handset.

Numeric domains can solve many of those issues right now. If you visited some of the links in my original post, you would find that you could access the websites/ content regardless of your carrier, your browser or your handset.

Cheers,

pm sent

Thanks Mark. PM replied.